All 5 Seasons of The Muppet Show Available to Stream on Disney+ February 19 | Playbill

Industry News All 5 Seasons of The Muppet Show Available to Stream on Disney+ February 19 The popular variety series, featuring the beloved Muppets with weekly special guests, ran from 1976-1981.

Play the music and light the lights, because all five seasons of The Muppet Show are now available for streaming on Disney+.

The half-hour variety program created by puppeteer Jim Henson ran from 1976-1981 on CBS. Set in an old, run-down vaudeville house, the show-within-a-show was hosted by Kermit the Frog, who also served as the variety's backstage showrunner. A weekly special guest (musicians from Johnny Cash to Alice Cooper, and movie stars young and old from Brooke Shields to George Burns) appeared alongside the regular cast of Muppets in recurring sketches such as "Fozzie's Comedy Acts" and "Rolf at the Piano."

Several Broadway stars crossed the boards of The Muppet Theatre during in the show's 120 episode, five-year run, including Carol Channing, Ethel Merman, Ben Vereen, Liza Minelli, and Bernadette Peters. Joel Grey was the very first guest on Episode 1, performing "Willkommen" from Cabaret, and Rita Moreno won an Emmy for Outstanding Continuing or Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in Variety or Music for her appearance in 1977.

Henson had already seen success with his 1969 Children's Television Workshop series Sesame Street, but the primetime slot and more adult humor of The Muppet Show firmly established Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, and the gang in the 1970s pop-culture zeitgeist.

Disney acquired the Muppets in 2004 and has released most of the catalog on its streaming service. This release of The Muppet Show marks the first time that Seasons 4 and 5 have been available for home viewing, having never before been issued on any platform. Watch the opening theme song from the first episode above.

 
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